Document text
Amphitheater project raises concerns By Buffy Pollock CENTRAL POINT � Citizens and city leaders are worried that a new 5,900-seat amphitheater planned for the Expo Park here will bring more fair week-style noise and traffic problems to town. Construction on the amphitheater could begin in 90 days, according to fair officials. "I have two concerns, but my major concern is the noise," said Mayor Bill Walton. Walton said he fears Central Point will be plagued by noise and traffic like Jacksonville, home to the four-month-long Britt Festivals. Much of the community gets tired of the noise generated by the Jackson County Fair. "All I ask of the county is they have the engineering not only done, but checked and double-checked so we don�t have another Jacksonville," said Walton. "We don�t need that much noise across the freeway." Walton�s secondary concern � traffic problems � was primary to Garth Ellard, City Council president. An already "maxed-out" intersection at Penninger and Pine would become an even bigger disaster if not planned properly, he said. "The intersection is already bad," Ellard said. "It�s been at maximum capacity for some time. Any additional traffic would really overload the system. We need to find another way in and out. "Nobody�s against having a larger facility. It just has to be planned to accommodate traffic," said Ellard. If the concerns are addressed "correctly," said Walton, the amphitheater will be good for the community. "I�m 100 percent behind it if those two factors are taken care of," the mayor said. Fair Board President Leigh Johnson said the traffic worries are based on an "isolated event" at the June 20 Bob Dylan concert, when concert traffic backed up on Penninger, down the on-ramp and onto the freeway. "That was a perceived traffic issue that occurred during one concert," he said. "Of course we will be working on a traffic plan so we can be ready for that once-in-a-lifetime situation where traffic might become overwhelming. We are going to correct that before it happens." And when it comes to noise concerns, supporters say city officials will have input in how the amphitheater is sited. "There are still a lot of meetings and design issues to be dealt with, but Central Point will get to play a part in deciding on alignment of the stadium so it won�t affect the citizens so much, especially late at night," said city planning technician Matt Amitore. Lithia Motors� recent donation of $500,000 to the new fairgrounds amphitheater should help get construction started soon, Johnson said. "We should be moving dirt within the next 90 days," he said. "There�s a lot of ground prep work to start with, but it moves forward from there." The proposed Lithia Motors Amphitheater is scheduled to start bringing in revenue from big events by June of 2001. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA